UPnP is good for mass adoption, but I don't know why that mining pool should be such a high priority? The way I see it these should be the next top priorities:
1. Password protection for the wallet (easy to do from the wallet UI)
2. Increasing file size cap (at least 4GB "DVD size", but preferably 50GB "Blu-ray" and obviously much more in near future when 4k goes viral)
3. Dropbox style easy user interface and automated file contracts renewals and not manual. (without this there will be no mass adoption).
Just my thoughts, but surely you know best your own project
One of the interns is working on the mining pool. It's a priority, but it's not the top priority.
I am working on wallet encryption + some other wallet things right now. When I'm done, the wallet api will be sufficient for exchanges to add us, and losing coins on accident should no longer be a problem. I've been looking at a few of the most popular bitcoin + altcoin wallets to figure out how to make our wallet the best that's out there, and there's been a lot of progress. Siafunds from the UI is a goal.
Luke is working on the file contract stuff right now. When he's done, the file cap will be raised to 5GB (enough to support DVDs), and uploading entire folders will be supported.
Dropbox style uploading will not be ready by 0.4.0. Perhaps later on in September though. Depending on how the 0.4.0 launch goes, we want to focus on getting other developers and businesses involved. Sia is a lot bigger than just personal storage.
It sorta seems like we're on target for August 15th. It's going to be tight but we haven't yet hit any major hurdles, and everyone seems reasonably confident that they'll be done with their part of the work in time.
Is the mining pool work included in the tentative Aug 15th target or is that coming later?